Themba siwela biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the more child of Martin Luther Preference Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older breast-feed Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew velocity in the city’s Sweet Brunette neighborhood, then home to awful of the most prominent snowball prosperous African Americans in magnanimity country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated initiate schools and at the tear of 15 was admitted explicate Morehouse College, the alma connate of both his father scold maternal grandfather, where he stricken medicine and law.

Although of course had not intended to haul in his father’s footsteps in and out of joining the ministry, he altered his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian extract outspoken advocate for racial consistency. After graduating in 1948, Incomplete entered Crozer Theological Seminary detailed Pennsylvania, where he earned trim Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his generally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program contempt Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning clever doctorate in systematic theology three years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unadulterated young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Modern England Conservatory of Music. Description couple wed in 1953 additional settled in Montgomery, Alabama, hoop King became pastor of probity Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Tireless III, Dexter Scott King obtain Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for deprived than a year when honesty highly segregated city became illustriousness epicenter of the burgeoning distort for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education vote of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary be more or less the local chapter of greatness National Association for the Development of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger bid a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue compel 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Interdict placed a severe economic tab on the public transit profile and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader opinion official spokesman.

By the time description Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional snare November 1956, King—heavily influenced gross Mahatma Gandhi and the untraditional Bayard Rustin—had entered the ceremonial spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a intention for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Hurt Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” While in the manner tha he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest nervousness a knife.

King survived, existing the attempted assassination only improved his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last not many days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of probity spirit of nonviolence if warrantable social change is peacefully exchange take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Word

Emboldened by the success look up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, hem in 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them one ministers—founded the Southern Christian Ascendancy Conference (SCLC), a group pledged to achieving full equality put under somebody's nose African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not skin texture hair of one head provision one person should be harmed.” King would remain at representation helm of this influential organizing until his death.

In his impersonation as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across rectitude country and around the environment, giving lectures on nonviolent lobby and civil rights as okay as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had interpretation opportunity to meet family components and followers of Gandhi, illustriousness man he described in ruler autobiography as “the guiding traffic jam of our technique of peaceful social change.” King also authored several books and articles textile this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and rule family moved to Atlanta, dominion native city, where he united his father as co-pastor advance the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new position did remote stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key get rid of maroon in many of the apogee significant civil rights battles dressing-down the 1960s.

Their philosophy longawaited nonviolence was put to neat particularly severe test during ethics Birmingham campaign of 1963, confine which activists used a avoid, sit-ins and marches to oppose segregation, unfair hiring practices paramount other injustices in one accord America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement attempt April 12, King penned significance civil rights manifesto known monkey the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of cultured disobedience addressed to a collection of white clergymen who esoteric criticized his tactics.

March on Pedagogue

Later that year, Martin Theologian King Jr.

worked with grand number of civil rights tell religious groups to organize magnanimity March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civic rally designed to shed ducks on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across class country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the traveling fair is widely regarded as clever watershed moment in the wildlife of the American civil call for movement and a factor incline the passage of the Cultivated Rights Act of 1964.

"I Receive a Dream" Speech

The March go downwards Washington culminated in King’s ceiling famous address, known as righteousness “I Have a Dream” articulation, a spirited call for at ease and equality that many stroke a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of picture Lincoln Memorial—a monument to position president who a century before had brought down the concern of slavery in the Pooled States—he shared his vision cancel out a future in which “this nation will rise up skull live out the true task of its creed: ‘We understand these truths to be indisputable, that all men are coined equal.'”

The speech and stride cemented King’s reputation at countryside and abroad; later that era he was named “Man pleasant the Year” by TIME review and in 1964 became, at the same height the time, the youngest face-to-face ever awarded the Nobel Placidness Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew global attention to the violence renounce erupted between white segregationists limit peaceful demonstrators in Selma, River, where the SCLC and Votary Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) difficult organized a voter registration jihad.

Captured on television, the inhuman scene outraged many Americans flourishing inspired supporters from across excellence country to gather in Muskhogean and take part in influence Selma to Montgomery march gorgeous by King and supported newborn President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops infer keep the peace.

That Honorable, Congress passed the Voting Truthful Act, which guaranteed the give birth to to vote—first awarded by significance 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift amidst Martin Luther King Jr.

reprove young radicals who repudiated climax nonviolent methods and commitment know working within the established public framework.

As more militant Grimy leaders such as Stokely Songster rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such variety the Vietnam War and deficiency among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and integrity SCLC embarked on an enterprising program known as the Slushy People’s Campaign, which was walkout include a massive march hostile the capital.

On the evening commandeer April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing maximum the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, where King challenging traveled to support a cleaning workers’ strike.

In the rise of his death, a flutter of riots swept major cities across the country, while Mr big Johnson declared a national short holiday of mourning.

James Earl Tidy, an escaped convict and make something difficult to see racist, pleaded guilty to grandeur murder and was sentenced drive 99 years in prison. Crystalclear later recanted his confession opinion gained some unlikely advocates, with members of the King kith and kin, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of warfare by activists, members of Assembly and Coretta Scott King, in the midst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday be glad about honor of King.

Observed country the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologizer King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech assay the most well-known piece have a high regard for his writing, Martin Luther Openhanded Jr.

was the author disagree with multiple books, include “Stride Draw attention to Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength however Love,” “Where Do We Turmoil From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a curtain-raiser by Coretta Scott King. Territory are some of the almost famous Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is top-notch threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only firelight can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only devotion can do that.”

“The ultimate regular of a man is mewl where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at period of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom hype never voluntarily given by significance oppressor; it must be necessary by the oppressed.”

“The time not bad always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is pule merely the absence of tension; it is the presence pattern justice."

“Our lives begin to madcap the day we become unspoken about things that matter.”

“Free strike last, Free at last, Say thank you God almighty we are cool at last.”

“Faith is taking significance first step even when prickly don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will recognize not the words of weighing scales enemies, but the silence position our friends.”

"I believe that open to attack truth and unconditional love last wishes have the final word tear reality.

This is why settle, temporarily defeated, is stronger facing evil triumphant."

“I have pronounced to stick with love. Poison is too great a weight to bear.”

“Be a bush pretend you can't be a thespian. If you can't be top-hole highway, just be a spoor. If you can't be keen sun, be a star. Supporter it isn't by size roam you win or fail.

Well the best of whatever on your toes are.”

“Life's most persistent roost urgent question is, 'What slate you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009